Mentioned by Gramophone as “a stunningly original pianist with musical insight and maturity comparable to colleagues twice his age”, Brazilian pianist Cristian Budu had his playing portrayed by the famous critic Alain Lompech as “grand, worthy of Arrau in his fifties, certainly of Nelson Freire (who so much admired his younger compatriot) or of any great conductor of the past such as Furtwängler”, with a pianism through which “music emerges […] in an imperious but invisible manner, as though he improvised” (Bachtrack – La Roque D’Anthéron Piano Festival).
Budu is the winner of the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition as its 50th anniversary (Grand Prize and Audience Prize), in Switzerland. He also won awards in Brazil such as the Nelson Freire International Piano Competition (1st prize), Instrumentalist of the Year (APCA) and Best Concert of the Year (Guia da Folha).
His solo recordings were awarded “5-Diapasons” in France, and by Gramophone, they received the “Editor’s Choice” prize and entered the “Top 50 Greatest Chopin Recordings”, “Top 10 Recent Beethoven Recordings” and “Top 10 Chopin Recordings” lists which include great artists of all times.
Concerts in recent years include solo recitals at the Verbier Festival and La Roque D’Antheron Piano Festival, duo recitals with Renaud Capuçon and Antonio Meneses, and chamber music with musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Orquestre de la Suisse Romande, Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Basel Chamber Orchestra, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra and at venues such as the Liederhalle, KKL, Jordan Hall and LAC Lugano.
Cristian was a member of the jury of important piano competitions such as Cleveland International Piano Competition and Rio de Janeiro International Piano Competition, and also got invited as a Professor at Festivals such as Villa Musica (Germany) and Campos do Jordão International Music Festival (Brazil).
In Brazil, Cristian was co-curator of the SESC International Chamber Music Festival, directed 2 editions of the Piano Festival of Ouro Preto (Minas Gerais) and created a Chamber Music Festival in Campinas (São Paulo) in 2023. Cristian has also made several partnerships with social projects such as Projeto Integração and Liga Solidária.